Syphon is an arts and culture publication produced by Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, based in Kingston, Ontario, that is meant to act as a conduit between the arts community in Kingston and communities elsewhere. Syphon has a mandate to feature local, national, and international arts coverage with an emphasis on arts scenes and activities that are located outside of the major art centres found in larger cities. The publication aims to engage a readership that includes its subscribers, the greater Kingston community and communities beyond.
Syphon was created in response to the lack of critical arts commentary and coverage in local publications in Kingston. Its purpose is to encourage public awareness, understanding and appreciation of the arts in the city of Kingston and beyond; to attract provincial, national and international recognition to Kingston as a centre for the arts; to increase the exposure of experimental and non-commercial art practices and increase the public understanding of such practices and, especially, to act as a record and communiqué for small regional arts communities throughout the country.
As we state in our masthead, "Syphon honours the etymology of the term 'hoser,' referring to those farmers who, on the Canadian prairies during the Great Depression of the '30s, would siphon gas from their neighbours' vehicles with a hose. We reclaim the somewhat derogatory expression and apply it to all those trying to make ends meet in the arts community."
Read Syphon online: